Sunday, March 15, 2015

Watch: Short Documentary "From the Fringes, To the Forefront"

In 2012, before Britain finally legalized gay marriage, film students Isabelle Willaby, Zaid Thanoon, Rebecca Dudley, and Ray Shaahu made the wonderful short documentary "From the Fringes, To the Forefront." They have finally released it to the public. The ten minute mini-doc recounts what it was like to be gay in England in the 60s. Until 1967, being homosexual was a criminal act and men were often jailed if caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The film does a terrific job interviewing several aging Brits who were young adults living in the notorious Machester Village the 60s. They discuss the club scene, the police harassment, and the changing times as homosexuals finally started protesting the way they were treated. Towards the end of the movie, one of the men laments that too many of the kids today take their freedom to be openly gay for granted and do not even realize, or care to know, the historic struggles of the past generations.